Potluck: Most-Requested Recipe Named; Oven-Baked S'Mores Melty

Not a week has gone by since November that someone hasn't called or emailed saying, "I've tried it ... I love it ... I want the recipe!"

Here it is.

Squash Casserole (Like Calico County's)

6 medium yellow squash

1 small onion, finely chopped

2/3 stick margarine, very soft

2 tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups cornbread crumbs

1 cup evaporated milk

1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Boil squash. When soft, mash with a potato masher in a colander and let it drain about 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine squash, onion, margarine, sugar, salt, black pepper, eggs, cornbread crumbs and evaporated milk. Mix thoroughly. It is preferable to use a table-top mixer with the paddle attachment.

When thoroughly mixed, pour into a greased 10x12-inch baking dish. Place in preheated oven. Bake for 35 minutes.

Add shredded cheddar cheese and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

"Hey, go to pinterest.com for some fantastic recipe ideas!!!!"

Bernie Steininger of Alma wrote that. Four, I repeat, four exclamation points.

So, I checked it out.

A picture of baked s'mores caught my eye but I couldn't find the recipe.

I clicked on this, I clicked on that. Then I realized people just seem to "pin" a note saying they like it.

I don't get the purpose of that. I'd be pinning everything I see on the web.

I still wanted the recipe.

Finally I clicked on something, I don't know what, which took me to a website called The Apron Gal.com.

By the way, Bernie is one of those readers who requested the squash casserole.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Two 5-ounce Hershey's bars should fit perfectly (for an 8x8-inch pan) side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. (Use 3 candy bars for an 11x7-inch pan.)

Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the creme. This is most easily done by putting the second half of the dough in a gallon-size freezer bag. Use your palms or rolling pin to flatten it out, and then use scissors to cut down both long sides of the bag, so it will open up book-style. Open it up carefully, and the dough will stick on one side of the bag. Then place the bag, dough side down, on the other three layers. From there, peel the bag up and spread the dough where it is uneven.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely or almost completely for the melty factor before cutting into bars.

OK, now that I know how it's done, what else can I find?

Homemade Twix and fried avocados?

Oh, yeah!!!!!

(See that, Bernie? Five exclamation points.)

Eggs in avocado? Neat picture. Can't click on a recipe.

I Googled it and basically what you do is heat a nonstick skillet to medium-low heat. Lightly spray with oil. Slice an avocado with the skin on lengthwise, forming one thick slice in the middle. (You will have some leftover avocado pieces — guacamole time!)

Remove the seed and use a small cookie cutter to make a hole in the center of your thick slice. Place the avocado slice in the pan. Crack a medium-size egg into the center of the hole. Cover and cook for a minute or two, until the egg is as you like it. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

I know many people who have a sweet tooth for Twix candy bars. This should please them.

Make the shortbread: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with pan spray and line with parchment paper. Spray the parchment.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Gradually add flour, ground rice and salt and allow the dough to come together. The dough will be crumbly but should hold together when you squeeze it.

Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the baking pan. Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the pan from front to back and bake for another 10 minutes, until the shortbread is a deep golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack to room temperature.

(Note: The purpose of the rice is to give the base of this cookie a unique crunch that remarkably resembles the store-bought Twix. This can be omitted without drastically changing the finished product.)

Caramel:

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/4 teaspoon salt plus more for sprinkling over the caramel layer

Make the caramel: Combine sugar, corn syrup, water and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Remove any sugar crystals from the sides of the pan by wiping down the sides with water. You can use your hand or a pastry brush. Place pot on medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Wipe down any stray sugar crystals that appear using a very clean and wet pastry brush. Do not stir from this point on. Keep an eye on the pan. The mixture will be very bubbly.

When the sugar syrup starts to turn golden brown, insert a candy thermometer to check the temperature. When it reaches 300 degrees F, remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for 1 minute, or until the bubbles subside. Carefully whisk in the heavy cream. Stir until smooth, then whisk in condensed milk. Add salt. Whisk until smooth.

Return pan to heat and stir constantly over medium heat until caramel reaches 240 degrees F. Remove from heat and pour over the shortbread. While the caramel is warm, sprinkle the surface with the best quality salt you have. Kosher is fine.

Melt chocolate and butter over a bain marie or in the microwave. If using the microwave melt it slowly — in 30-second intervals. Stir well after each interval.

Once completely melted, pour over the caramel. Smooth the chocolate in a nice even layer. Place in the refrigerator to set. They cut best when chilled.

Jackie Baker of Van Buren called. She dined at Cheddar's recently, and was blown away by the croissants.

"They are so delicious. I've got to delve in and see if I can make them."

Ambitious.

She also lost her recipe for gumbo that was once on the back of a box of Spanish Rice-A-Roni.

The only Rice-A-Roni gumbo I can find calls for chicken flavor.

Maybe a reader remembers it.

In the meantime, here's that chicken version.

Rice-A-Roni Gumbo

1 package (6.9 ounces) Rice-A-Roni Chicken Flavor

1 small green bell pepper, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes with garlic and onion, undrained

1 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

In large skillet over medium heat, saute rice mix and bell pepper with margarine until golden brown.

Slowly stir in 2 1/4 cups water, chicken, tomatoes, Creole seasoning and other seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender.

Now let's talk croissants, the buttery, flaky crescent-shaped pastries that originated in France.

Believe me, what we buy at the grocery store in no way resembles what I remember scarfing down in Paris.

Pure heaven.

Be warned, Jackie. These take a lot of time to make, although it's relatively easy work. I tried to break it down as much as I can.

Croissants

In a small bowl, mix together:

3 tablespoons very warm water

1 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

Set aside for the yeast to proof — that is, prove that it works by getting all foamy.

Meanwhile, combine and heat until tepid:

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Measure 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour into a large bowl.

Stir in the foamy yeast mixture, milk mixture and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Mix just to combine into a soft dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough 10 to 12 times, essentially pick up the dough and throw it down (this is a Julia Child recipe, if that explains anything). The dough should be quite soft and silky-feeling.

Gather the dough into a ball, put it in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise for about 3 hours (or overnight in the refrigerator), until tripled in size.

After it has risen, remove it from the bowl and place on a floured surface. With your fingers, press it into an 8x12-inch rectangle.

Fold the dough into thirds: fold the bottom edge up and the top edge down, like a letter. Place the dough on a plate, cover with plastic, and let rise another 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.

After this second rise, place the dough in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the butter.

Place 1/2 cup chilled, unsalted butter between 2 sheets of waxed paper and tap or roll it with a rolling pin into a 5-inch square. This will also soften the butter slightly, but don't let it get so soft that it gets melty at all. You want the butter and the dough to be about the same texture/consistency.

Place the chilled dough on a floured surface. Let it rest a few minutes, then shape it into a 8-inch square with your hands. Place the butter square in the middle of the dough, then fold up the dough and seal in the butter. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into an 8x14-inch rectangle.

Trim all the edges so you can see the layer of butter inside, then make another letter fold (fold the bottom edge up and the top edge down). Turn the dough rectangle so that one of the short edges is facing you and the open long edge is on your right.

Roll out again into an 8x14-inch rectangle. Trim the bottom (short) edge, and repeat the letter fold. These are your first two turns. Place on a plate, cover with plastic and let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit for a few minutes. Place it on a floured surface so that again the short edge faces you and the open long edge faces right.

Repeat the rolling and folding as above twice more (for turns three and four). Place the dough on a plate, cover with plastic and place in the refrigerator for another 1 to 2 hours (or place something heavy on top of it and leave it in the fridge overnight).

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit for a few minutes.

On a floured surface, roll it out into a 5x18-inch rectangle, then cut it in half into two squares. Place one square back in the refrigerator. Roll the other out into a 10-inch square.

Trim the edges so you can see the butter layers. Cut the square into two rectangles, then each rectangle into two triangles. Stretch each triangle into more of an isosceles triangle (long sides of equal length) and roll up, starting from the wide end and finishing with the pointed tip tucked underneath. Your finished croissant should have 7 little rolled "steps."

Place the rolled croissants onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, cover them lightly with plastic and let them proof in a warm place for 3 hours (the longer the better), until quite puffy and jiggly and the layers of butter and dough are visible. Don't let it get too warm or the butter will melt into the dough.

Make an egg wash by mixing together:

1 egg

1 teaspoon water

Brush the egg wash over the croissants in a thick, even coating.

Preheat oven to about 490 degrees, then turn down to 475 degrees when you put in the croissants.

Bake the croissants for 12 to 15 minutes at 475 degrees, until deeply golden brown. Allow to cool on a rack and eat them while they're fresh.

Monday is National Pie Day, and Janie Dahlem of Clarksville is planning her third celebration, to be held Sunday.

I was planning to pay her a little timely visit, but something came up, darn it.

Last year, 22 people showed up at Janie's house with 19 homemade pies.

An anonymous reader wants a good chicken enchilada recipe that doesn't call for soup in the mix.

How about it, readers?

Looking for a recipe? Have one you'd like to share? Write to Potluck, Times Record, P.O. Box 1359, Fort Smith, AR 72902. Email: jharshaw@swtimes.com